Christmas Hobbit Style
by SirGhirahim
Summary: It's almost Yule in Erebor and Bilbo decides to tell everyone about the legend of Hobbit Santa.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Please don't sue me I'm poor.**

Erebor was buzzing with activity, Yule was just around the corner and everyone was trying to make last minuet preparations. Decorations were being hung, food and drink was being ordered, entertainers were practicing and guest rooms were being cleaned.

Bard the King of dale, Thranduil the King of Mirkwood, Elrond the Lord of Rivendell, The Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn and their families had all come to Erebor for the celebration.

Bilbo was looking forward to Yule or Christmas as it's called in the Shire. He hadn't celebrated since his parent died. But ever since the adventure he had found new family and friends to celebrate with. He helped with the celebrations by helping Bombur and the other cooks in the kitchens. He gave them recipes for traditional Hobbit food. Most of them hadn't heard of such foods before which didn't surprise him.

It was evening when Bilbo joined the others in the great hall for a meal. He took a seat next to Bofur and Ori and grabbed a plate.

All the Rulers and their families were present as well as their most trusted advisors and some warriors. And of course there was one grey wizard present.

Bilbo was happy to have such a mismatched and unusual family, it made him feel alive again.

"How's the cooking coming along Bilbo?" Bofur asked

"It's going fine Bofur. I hope everyone enjoys them" Bilbo replied with a smile

"I think we will everyone that's walked past the kitchens has been drooling" Bofur laughed

As dinner progressed Tilda started to act up "But Da I don't like broccoli" she whined to her father

"You must eat your vegetables Tilda" Bard insisted

"But why?" she pouted

"Because there good for you" Bard replied

"Your father's right, they are good for you" Thranduil interjected

"But they taste bad" Tilda said to Thranduil

Dwalin laughed and said "That they do lass"

"Please don't encourage her. Tilda eat your vegetables" Bard said

Tilda pushed the plate away from her and strongly objected to eating the offending greenery.

Bilbo decided to help Bard out "Be a good girl and eat your vegetables Tilda if you don't Santa won't come and bring you any presents" he said

Tilda looked at Bilbo confused and asked "Who's Santa?"

Now Bilbo was the one confused "You don't know who Santa is?" he asked

Tilda shook her head in reply.

"Oh, I guess he must only be a Hobbit tradition then" Bilbo shrugged

"Who is he?" Tilda asked

"He is the spirit of Christmas" Bilbo replied

"The spirit of Christmas?" Bard asked "And he brings presents?"

"Every year but he only gives them to good boys and girls" Bilbo said

"That sounds like a good story Bilbo" Kili said with glee

"Yeah can you tell us about him" Fili asked smiling

"I guess I could" Bilbo said

"I would be nice to know more about Hobbit culture" Lord Elrond said

It seemed that everybody was interested in Bilbo's story so he started from the beginning "Well this story starts many years ago, back when Hobbits wondered the wilds of middle earth. Long ago before Hobbits found the shire they wondered through all sorts of terrain and faced many dangerous situations. They were miserable, the children especially. They had nothing"

All the dwarves of Erebor knew what that felt like.

"One Hobbit however decided to change that. He would collect various pieces of wood and cloth and make toys for the children. The children were happy to have some to play with and the parents were to happy to see their children smile again. That Hobbits name was Nicolas Kris Kringle. When the Hobbit's found the Shire Nicolas saw no reason to stop making people happy. For the whole year he would make toys and on Yule he would give them to good girls and boys. Eventually he found love and had children of his own but he never stopped giving. He continued to give for sixty years"

Everyone in the room was listening with great interest.

"And then the day came when he sadly passed away"

Everyone in the room seemed to wilt.

"Everyone in the Shire mourned his loss and no child looked forward to Christmas that year. When Christmas did come around the Shire continued as normal but the children knew that Nicolas was not coming that year. They went to bed knowing they would not wake up to any toys from him that year"

"That's so sad" Tilda said

"I know but the stories not over yet. When the Hobbit of the Shire woke up that morning they woke up to a miracle. There were toys in their stockings and toys under the trees. The parents didn't know where the toys had come from. They left their houses and tried to solve to the mystery when suddenly a loud and cheerful laugh rang across the Shire. All of the Hobbits looked down the road to see Nicolas Kris Kringle"

"But he died, how did he come back?" Legolas asked

"When Nicolas died Yavanna noticed his kindness during life a made him a saint"

"What's a saint?" Elladan asked

"When a Hobbit dies sometimes they are noticed by great deeds they did in life and Yavanna turned them into a saint. A saint is the spirit of the person who died and once a year on certain holidays they come back to the Shire"

"So you have many of these saints?" Ori asked

"Yes and we have holidays celebrating their return to the earth. Now back to the story. When Hobbits saw Nicolas he was wearing a red suit and hat with white trim, he wore the glasses he used when he carved and he had a glorious white beard. And if seeing Nicolas wasn't enough they saw he was in a bright red sleigh with golden trim that was being pulled by eight reindeer. They knew that day that he had become a saint. He had come during the night and gave everyone presents"

"That's amazing!" Sigrid said

"Actually the most amazing part is yet to come"

Everybody leaned forward in anticipation.

"When it was time for Nicolas to leave he grabbed on the reins on shouted to his reindeers. On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and on Blitzen. The reindeer started to run forward and when they reached full speed they took off into the air"

"They flew!?" as Tilda surprised

"They flew, taking the slay with them. Nicolas's last words before disappearing were 'Merry Christmas' and ever since then he comes back on Christmas to deliver gifts. The Hobbits of the Shire had a new name for Nicolas they called him Santa Clause. The End"

There were mouths agape, smiles and applause from everyone. Compliments on how good a story it was and questions arose from everyone. And Tilda? Well she ate her vegetables.

"Do you think Santa might come to Erebor this year?" Kili asked

"I don't think so. Like I said I think he's only a Hobbit tradition" Bilbo said

There were sounds of disappointment from children and adults. Bilbo however had a plan.

"I guess if you write him a letter he might come" Bilbo said

"Write him a letter? How can we do that? How does he get them?" Sigrid asked

"Why magic of course, he is a saint. What you do is write 'Dear Santa I have been a good boy or girl this year and I would like, then say one toy you would like and at the end write your name and where you live. Put the letter in an envelope and write to Santa Clause and put it next to your bed. When you wake up the morning the letter will be gone" Bilbo explained

"Really? Da can we write to Santa?" Tilda asked

Then other kids started asking their parents if they could as well. The parents looked unsure and looked towards Bilbo as if silently asking for his permission.

"You can write to him if you want" Bilbo said

There was a loud chorus of yes and the children got excited. They started the leave the table and run to their rooms, with their parents following close behind them. The only people that were left at the table were the rulers.

"It's nice to see the kids happy again, like they used to be" Balin said

"Yeah. I just hope it lasts" Thorin said

"What do you mean lad?" Balin asked

"Master Baggins what if this so called saint doesn't come and the children wake up said?" Thorin asked

"I don't think Santa would disappoint kids on Christmas, have faith Thorin" Bilbo replied

Thorin for his part was still unsure.

As night rolled in everyone started to go to bed, so they could be up early to continue preparations.

"Bilbo!" Kili shouted running up to him with his brother in tow "Bilbo, does Santa only come to kids?" he asked

Ah Kili an adult but he still thinks like a child at times and Fili was no better "Yes he does" Bilbo replied. Fill and Kili seemed to wilt in disappointment, oh Yavanna, Bilbo did not like those faces "Although I guess if you wanted to write him a letter you could. He may come because he's never seen you before" Bilbo smirked

"Really! Come on Kili" Fili said. Grabbing his brother and running to their rooms.

Bilbo shook his head and laughed slightly.

"Looks like you've brought more than just Hobbit food to Yule Bilbo" Gandalf said appearing for the shadows.

"Well it was nice to share some of my traditions" Bilbo smiled

"And what if this tradition doesn't happen?" Gandalf asked

Bilbo thought and wondered if it was going to happen and what would happen if it didn't. Then he got an idea "Gandalf old friend I think this calls for some magic" he smirked

Gandalf knew what his friend was planning and was on board.

As the children of men, dwarves and elves eagerly wrote their letters to Santa, they did exactly as Bilbo had told them. They wrote their letters, put it next to their beds and went to sleep. That night the children were excited, the parents were interested and a certain Hobbit and wizard were busy scheming.

Bilbo had told Gandalf his plan and now was to the time to put it in motion. Gandalf used his magic to make the letters everyone had wrote to teleport into Bilbo's room. As Bilbo and Gandalf read letter after letter they were surprised to come across letters written by Legolas, Ori, Elladan and Elrohir. As they read the letters Gandalf began making the toys with magic and Bilbo made the Santa suit. Of course Bilbo didn't tell Gandalf about his magic ring, that was going to stay his little secret.

In the morning the mountain was abuzz with excitement. When the children had woken up they saw that their letters to Santa were gone and their parents were stunned.

As soon as Bilbo entered the great hall for breakfast he was bombarded with questions about the letters. Bilbo sat at the Kings table and smiled to himself, his plan was working.

"The letters are gone Bilbo! Did this Santa take them?" Bofur asked

"Of course he did. I told you he would" Bilbo replied

"Does this mean I'll be getting a doll for Yule?" Tilda asked

"Yes. As long as your good and leave him some cookies and milk" Bilbo told her

"What do cookies and milk have to do with Santa?" Bard asked

"Well, as thanks for giving presents you are supposed to leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk out for Santa" Bilbo explained

"Why cookies and milk?" Ori asked

"Because it was Nicolas' favourite treat. And you want to thank him for giving you presents don't you?"

"Yes" Tilda said "I'll make them myself"

Bilbo smiled because tonight was the night he was going to put his plan into action.

That night the people of Erebor were starting to get ready for bed. Tomorrow was Yule and the parties began. The children had urged their parents to let them leave out cookies and milk for Santa and some even wanted to stay up late so they could see him. But when midnight came around everyone was fast asleep.

Donning his magic ring, Santa suit and magic beard courtesy of Gandalf Bilbo sneaked around Erebor with a sack full of toys. He crept past the guards and entered the rooms of everybody in the mountain. Even those who didn't write letters were getting a little something for Christmas.

When Bilbo entered the room where Bard and his children slept he was going to make he was seen just a little bit. He placed a box labelled to Bard next to his bed and moved on to Bain's room he placed the toy he wanted next to his bed and then moved on to the girls room. He placed the Girls toys next to their beds and moved to the plate of cookies. He took off his ring that was hidden under his glove and lightly tapped the plate as he took a cookie. His tapping disturbed the girls.

"Wha?" Sigrid said as she sat up. Her eyes went wide when she saw a small man wearing red in her room "Santa?" she asked

"Santa!" Tilda said louder

Bilbo put his finger to his lips and went Shhh. He slipped on his ring and sneaked back out.

"Sigrid look presents. It's the doll I wanted" Tilda said "Da! Da!" she said running to her father.

Bard jumped out of bed when he heard his daughter shouted fearing the worst he grabbed his dagger "What is it?"

"Santa was here, look he left me a doll" Tilda said showing her father the doll

Bard looked at the doll in surprise and when his son and eldest daughter showed him their gifts he was dumb founded.

"Da he left you a present to" Tilda said

Bard looked on his drawer and indeed found a gift for him, from Santa. He was flabbergasted and his children played with their toys.

Bilbo continued going from room to room leaving presents and eating cookies. He made sure that every so often he would make sure someone saw him for a few seconds before disappearing. When the sun began to rise Bilbo went back to his room and changed, he only managed to get two hours sleep before he was awoken by a guard and told that breakfast was ready. Yawning he made his way to the dining hall where he could hear the laughter of children ringing down the halls.

Entering the halls Bilbo smiled when he saw how happy children and adults were. Children were playing with their gifts and adults were putting their gifts to use.

"Bilbo!" Kili shouted "I saw Santa"

Bilbo smirked to himself and replied "Really? I told you he would come" he sat down next to Kili and Fili.

"He's just like you said. Red suit and a beard" Kili continued excitedly

Many people told Bilbo that they to saw Santa Claus. Bilbo was happy that his and Gandalf's plan had worked and best of all nobody knew it was him. Throughout the day men, dwarves and elves continued to ask Bilbo questions about Santa which he happily answered. The children played with their toys and the adults were happy to see their children happy.

"Master Baggins" a female voice said

"Lady Dis, how can I help you?" Bilbo asked

"I just wanted to thank you Bilbo" she said

"Thank me?"

"For telling everyone about this Santa Claus of yours. I haven't seen everyone so happy in years. it's so good to hear these halls filled with the laughter of children after everything that has happened" she said smiling

Bilbo smiled back and said "I'm happy that everyone else is happy and believe me when I say it will last"

"Why is that?" Dis asked

"Because Yule comes once a year and so does Santa. If everyone writes to Santa next year I believe he will come"

And he did the next year and the year after and the year after. When Bilbo became too old to continue his act of being Santa, he told a close few that he was Santa and asked that they continue the tradition. And so they did for the hero Hobbit of Erebor. And the tradition of Santa Claus continued for generations all thanks to one Hobbit's tale.

The End.

 **Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.**


End file.
